Where Are the Rezzies?

I took my 16' jon boat out again today. I have been able to get out 7 times so far this month. I have caught at least 1 Cutty on each outing and as many as 6 on my best day. However I am not seeing any Coho working in all of the spots where I was seeing them last year. Finally today I saw one jump one time and three casts later I hooked up and landed my first resident Coho of the year, a nice 15" fish. I have only been doing this for a couple of years and wonder if this is normal. It seems like this time last year if I saw some working on the surface I could chase them around and pick up a half dozen before they disappeared.

They are few and far between at Narrows Park. Saw one jumper last week and caught one small two weeks ago. Skunked again this morning as were two other FF but it is close and I never have more than two hours... I often see sea lions passing by to the south heading to their "secret spot". Maybe Fox Island?

There was a good release, it appears that they didn't hang around in numbers.

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Don,

How do you know that there was a good release? I posted this (below) a couple of weeks ago, and of 200 views, no one had an answer...

2009 Rezzie release info ?
I've been trying to find out information on the 2009 Squaxin Island net pen releases. Each June or so, the Squaxin tribe has been releasing 1.5 - 1.8 million juvenile coho salmon into Peale Passage. I have property directly across from the net pens, and I have always seen the young salmon dimpling the surface everywhere you look for a couple of weeks after they are released, until they finally scatter.

But not this year - didn't see any at all. I can find lots of info about prior years, and on the 2009 movement of the smolts to the net pens, but not their release. Anyone have the actual 2009 release numbers, date, etc. ?

Above is just a snap shot of the 1.5 million coho that will be released in June 2009. On average only 3 % of these released coho will return as adults in Fall of 2010. That is approximately 45,000 adult coho available for harvest by Sport and Commercial fisheries in South Puget Sound.

from the site

you are correct Rich
it doesn't say they actually released them
it says" to be released"

maybe they kept them all
or dryfly Larry got them
and is taking pictures of them all lined up on the beach
before releasing them

For ever the resident salmon (blackmouth, resident coho) have been nomadic following food sources. Because the abundance and distribution of the coho's forage ( baitfish. euphausids, etc) has always been highly variable where they spend their time foraging is also highly variable. Yes delaying the release timing increases the likely hood the at the fish will become residentals however if there is little forage they tend to seek out" greener pastures". I think by now it is pretty clear they did not stay in the South Sound; in the past when that has been the cases it seems there are more small coho in the straits. When the summer salmon fisheries start in July I would not be surprised that anglers fishing the straits and maybe MA 9 find some of your missing coho.

While it is a bummer that the south sound fisher's are not find the winter bonaza of last year the silver lining in that cloud may be that as those fish move back inside the summer fishery in central sound may be better than recent years. But as always been the case once anadromous salmonid reach the salt it is if they enter some sort of black box where th surviving fish went and how many will return are unknowns. If we are fortunate as their "cycle" comes to its end we will have addtional insights on what happened. One think for sure we can expect next year to different from both this and last year.

Question: is there correlation between an El Nino event (yes, I know it's oceanic) and temp/precip or other atmospheric issues that can be appended to El Nino that might influencce the change in pattern of Puget Sound fish?

I haven't seen much in the way of resident fish but I have noticed a large increase in the numbers of predators around southworth both seabirds and seals, the high numbers of loons I've seen this year combined with other predatory seabirds must be having some effect, I've also seen alot more sealions than usual working right up on the beach that even if they aren't feeding on them must be having some effect perhaps scaring them out and away.
tony

For ever the resident salmon (blackmouth, resident coho) have been nomadic following food sources. Because the abundance and distribution of the coho's forage ( baitfish. euphausids, etc) has always been highly variable where they spend their time foraging is also highly variable. Yes delaying the release timing increases the likely hood the at the fish will become residentals however if there is little forage they tend to seek out" greener pastures". I think by now it is pretty clear they did not stay in the South Sound; in the past when that has been the cases it seems there are more small coho in the straits. When the summer salmon fisheries start in July I would not be surprised that anglers fishing the straits and maybe MA 9 find some of your missing coho.

While it is a bummer that the south sound fisher's are not find the winter bonaza of last year the silver lining in that cloud may be that as those fish move back inside the summer fishery in central sound may be better than recent years. But as always been the case once anadromous salmonid reach the salt it is if they enter some sort of black box where th surviving fish went and how many will return are unknowns. If we are fortunate as their "cycle" comes to its end we will have addtional insights on what happened. One think for sure we can expect next year to different from both this and last year.

Tight lines
Curt

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It is a bummer Curt.

The information in this thread is pretty spot on for release and where they've gone. Since this is such a nebulous program, with little way of tracking the results, there is a new effort under way. In future releases, the fish have been marked by removing a ventral fin. When a coho is caught, either off Squaxin Island, or up in Seattle, it will be possible to tell where it came from. I can get more detailed information as it comes available. I believe there is also a plan to implant some of the fish with electronic transponders like we've done with cutthroat in a couple of areas down here. It won't necessarily put fish where I want them, when I want them, but it is a start in understanding the movements.